As Soon as the Election Ends, the Prosecution Moves... Will Investigations into the Administration Begin in Earnest?

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] As the April 7 by-elections concluded, the prosecution began to accelerate investigations related to the administration. This is also interpreted as an intention to address sensitive issues before the new Prosecutor General is appointed, after postponing investigations during the election period due to political controversies.

In fact, on the day after the election, April 8, Acting Prosecutor General Cho Nam-gwan stated, "During the investigation process, please be especially careful about conduct and speech as public officials, keeping in mind the political neutrality of the prosecution." Acting Prosecutor General Cho emphasized, "Now that the election is over, each office should handle major cases such as election-related incidents fairly and promptly, strictly based only on legal principles and evidence."

First, the Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kwon Sang-dae) indicted three individuals without detention on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act: Lee (former secretary), Song Byeong-gi (former Ulsan Deputy Mayor), and public official Yoon Mo.

Lee, who served as the Blue House Social Policy Secretary, is suspected of intervening in delaying the announcement of the preliminary feasibility study for the Industrial Accident Mother (Mo) Hospital, a key campaign pledge of then-Ulsan Mayor Kim Ki-hyun (currently a People Power Party member), who was seeking re-election in the 2018 local elections. It was confirmed that Song Cheol-ho, Ulsan Mayor, during his candidacy in October 2017, met with former Senior Administrative Officer Jang Hwan-seok of the Balanced Development Secretariat and Lee, among others, to request a postponement of the announcement of the preliminary feasibility study for the Industrial Accident Mother Hospital project.

The investigation team dismissed charges or dropped the case against other suspects, including former Presidential Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok and Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary Lee Gwang-cheol, citing a lack of clear evidence to prove the allegations. The investigation team had previously summoned former Chief Im in January last year for questioning. Additionally, cases such as allegations that Mayor Song’s side received bribes from a used car dealership owner during the 2018 local elections were transferred to the Ulsan District Prosecutors' Office because many related parties reside in Ulsan.

On the same day, the Criminal Division 3 of the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Im Il-su) requested an arrest warrant for independent lawmaker Lee Sang-jik, founder of Eastar Jet, on charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust and embezzlement), embezzlement in the course of duty, and violation of the Political Parties Act.

In the legal community, it is expected that investigations related to former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui will also accelerate. Currently, the case has expanded into suspicions of a 'Blue House-orchestrated purge,' and there is a possibility that Lee Gwang-cheol, the Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary and a key figure, will be summoned for questioning soon.

The core issue is that the activities of the Past Affairs Truth Investigation Team at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the recommendation for reinvestigation regarding former Deputy Minister Kim were part of a planned purge. The prosecution suspects that Secretary Lee was involved in fabricating and leaking an interview report by Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, a member of the investigation team, concerning construction businessman Yoon Joong-chun, who provided sexual entertainment. During this process, the Blue House is also investigating whether it tried to highlight the Kim case to cover up the Burning Sun scandal involving former Senior Superintendent Yoon Gyu-geun. It is known that Secretary Lee exchanged Telegram messages suggesting the need to emphasize the cases involving former Senior Superintendent Yoon and Kim Hak-ui.

Investigations related to Optimus Asset Management are also expected to proceed to wrap up lobbying suspicions in politics and government, as the financial crime aspects have been concluded. By last month, all four key lobbyists had been arrested and sent to trial, and recently, former Nara Bank President Yang Ho and former Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Lee Heon-jae, both members of the 'Optimus Advisory Group,' have been summoned in succession, showing active movements. So far, the only high-ranking official found to have received money from Optimus is former Deputy Director Yoon Mo of the Financial Supervisory Service, so the prosecution plans to seek additional links targeting lobbyists and advisory group members.

The investigation into allegations of economic feasibility manipulation at the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant, which former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl closely oversaw until the end, is also likely to enter a new phase. Although Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy employees suspected of deleting data have been sent to trial, the investigation had stalled after the pre-arrest warrant for former Minister Baek Woon-kyu was dismissed and the election period overlapped.